16 and pregnant

Henry

Regina's knees press into the soft grass before her father's grave and she couldn't have felt more ashamed of her actions that she was at this moment. Hot tears stream down her cheeks as she can only imagine the look on her father's face.

"Daddy I'm so sorry." She whispers with her voice wavering. She looks over her shoulder and swallows thickly as she tries to keep her emotions at bay, especially with the progressing and multiplying hormones. 

Henry was Regina's number one supporter and had only wanted what was best for his daughter but on Regina's eighth birthday, the 36-year-old became aware that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Henry never smoked or drank so it was all a shock and a mystery to the family as to why out of all people, he got it. The chemotherapy was hardest on Regina. Watching the joyful man she grew up with, lose his smile and his energy was beyond heartbreaking for her. 

With three years of chemo draining the life and happiness out of her father, Regina couldn't bare it anymore. She would sneak out of school and go to the hospital to see her father, not knowing when his final minutes were, constantly waiting in fear that she wouldn't get a proper goodbye.

Weeks later, after Henry's 40th birthday, which again was celebrated in the hospital, he said enough. He was in constant pain and always tired and he just couldn't do it anymore. That was when he had pulled Cora aside and told her to stop everything all together. The day that he told Cora he was through with treatments, was the day that Regina walked into his room with lilies and heard every single word and everything around her came crumbling down. She was going to lose her father.

A week after Henry's request, the dreaded day came. Eleven year old Regina sat next to Henry's bed, kicking her feet freely as she told her father about how her day at school was and the project she was assigned. She held his hand tightly and took a deep breath.

"Daddy? Do you really want to die?" She asked, trying to keep her tears at bay. She didn't want to cry in front of him because she knew that Henry would start crying as well and that was the last thing that she wanted.

Henry let out a soft sigh as he turned his head towards his daughter and closed his eyes as he tried to formulate a sentence that would help her understand and not crush her.

"Princess, baby, daddy is really hurting." He began and squeezed her hand tightly. "And daddy still wants to be here but it hurts." He whispered as tears glassed over his brown eyes. Regina swallowed quietly and nodded as she looked down at her now still feet.

"I dont want you to go." She whispered and looked back up at him. "I love you daddy and I don't want to say goodbye." She murmured as she felt tears begin to stream down her cheeks.

"I don't want to go either babygirl but I'll still be with you and your mother and sister, right here." He whispered and placed his hand over her small beating heart. "I'll always be with you sweetheart, no matter where you are." He whispered and began to cough violently. 

Regina looked up at her father and felt her heart begin to race when nurses rushed in. Soon enough, Henry was surrounded by nurses and interns. Henry's heartrate began to decrease and Regina tried getting their attention, to find out what was wrong with her father, yet no one knew she was ever in there, until Cora barged in. She looked around the room frantically with tears in her eyes before her gaze met with a scared eleven year olds. Cora ran over and scooped the child into her arms before carrying her out into the hall and looking down at her as Regina sobbed.

"I was talking to daddy and asked him if he really wanted to die and now he's dying." She choked out and clutched onto her mother. "It's all my fault." She sobbed and buried her face into Cora's chest.

Her mother reached her hand down and  began to stroke her daughters soft curls, trying to coax her and calm her down. Cora didn't know how to explain to Regina that he was really sick and that they couldn't make him stay forever. He needed to be let go.

"Mrs. Mills?" One of the nurses asked as she peered out the door. "He's stabilized but I would prepare with saying your goodbyes." She whispered as she looked down at the crying eleven year old girl. Cora nodded, silently acknowledging what needed to be done. She slowly pulled Regina away from her chest and sighed. 

"Sweetheart, daddy is really really sick and he's not getting better." She whispered and brushed a curl behind Regina's small pierced ear. "I need you to be strong for him okay?" She asked gently as she raised her daughters chin. "We need to get ready to say goodbye to him." Cora whispered with a heartbroken expression. Regina felt her throat tighten and her eyes become blurry.

"What? No. I don't want to say goodbye to daddy! He can't leave!" She sobbed and looked into Henry's room though the small glass window as nurses walked around him checking his vitals and preparing to unplug him. The eleven year old girl shook her head frantically and squirmed out of her mothers grasp before pushing the heavy wooden door open and running into her fathers room. "Daddy you can't die!" She sobbed out. "I need you! I love you! Please don't leave me!" She screamed as tears ran quickly down her face. But it was too late. The nurses swallowed back their tears and looked at the time.

"Time of death, 18:47." They whispered and Regina collapsed to the floor in a fit of sobs. Cora slowly walked in and wrapped her arms around Regina tightly as she did her best to hold back her tears. 

"I'm sorry baby. I'm so so sorry." She whispered  with her voice cracking. The young brunette shook her head in denial before slowly rising up from the floor. She swallowed back her tears as she approached the body of her father and squeezed his hand tightly.

"Daddy please wake up." She murmured with glassy eyes and her heart shattering when there was no response to her plea. Regina wiped her eyes before glancing at her mother and crawling into bed with Henry. Regina looked up at him with teary eyes. She took a deep and unstable breath before cuddling into his unresponsive body. "I'll always be your little girl daddy." She whispered brokenly and closed her eyes, causing tears to stream down her cheeks. She hugged him tightly and shook her head, never wanting to let him go.

Regina looked down at her fathers grave with wet cheeks and an aching heart as she gently placed her hand on her stomach. "You're going to be a grandfather." She forced out sadly. "I wish you were still here daddy. I need you more than I ever thought I would. I love you." She whispered as she laid lilies on top of his tombstone.

Hey guys! So it's been a while since I've been on here and I'm sorry for making you all wait 4 years for another chapter. Literally! I'm going to do my best and update all my stories and chapters as best as I can and as frequently as I can. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I really hope that it was worth the wait. I'll be up to updating my other works and I hope to update this story within the next few weeks! Thank you for your support and I'll see you in the next one! <3